"O-Oh my gosh, Peter! It's… It's YOU!" Wanda laughed, not knowing what else to say.
"Well who else would be this handsome devil who got shot with an energy cannon?" Peter chuckled in his slightly delirious state. "Oh… too soon?"
"You're awake now - I'll punch you for that later," Wanda said, her eyes brimming with tears of joy.
Just being able to think and know it was now reality that Peter Parker was awake and alive, breathing, laughing, cutting up like a teenage-young adult boy should, being himself… he wasn't in a coma anymore. He wasn't hurting any-well, okay, that bruise was still healing…
But he was okay.
He was okay.
Wanda kept repeating this phrase to herself, almost at the point of bursting with joy…
"Wanda, are you okay?"
Peter asking that question to her nearly tore her walls down. "Y-Yes, I'm… I'm just so happy!" Wanda proclaimed, her voice breaking as she wiped her eyes with one hand, still holding onto Peter's with the other.
Suddenly, Tony walked into the room - he looked fresh out of the office, as if he had only just gotten here. He was breathing heavily, but his worried eyes relaxed as soon as he saw Peter's eyes open on the bed. "Oh, God, kid…"
"H-Hey man," Peter said weakly. Tony went to hug his kid as gently as he could, without hurting him - he knew he was still recovering, after all.
Even though Peter reciprocated the hug as well as he could, he still didn't let go of Wanda's hand.
Her touch had grounded him in reality for as long as he had been in the coma - he felt like it was a lifeline for him. That he just… couldn't let go.
He felt so comfortable. So warm. So welcome.
It was… it was a really nice change of pace.
And gosh, it was good to be back.
-0-
12:40 AM
"I hate to ask this of you, but-"
"Peter, never feel ashamed to ask me to help you with anything," Wanda smiled, brushing his hand with her own. "I'm your girlfriend now… W-Wait, we never made it official, d-did we? I mean, y'know, of course, if you-if you don't wanna be-"
"Normally I'd be the one rambling, but I'm too tired to do it," Peter chuckled softly. "Yes Wanda, you are my girlfriend. And I'm your boyfriend!"
Wanda couldn't help but beam at those words… she had never had a boyfriend before. This was something completely new to her… and so exciting all the same.
Peter Parker was her boyfriend!
She was Peter Parker's girlfriend!
This giddy excitement over a relationship felt like something that a typical young lady of her age would experience… it was one of the few "normal" things about her life, she felt. And truth be told, she was glad they were so rare.
It made each one of them all the more special.
"Could you… could you help me walk to my bed?" asked Peter. "They gave me the go ahead to go back to my room, Dr. Banner and Dr. Cho did, but… I-I don't know if I can. I feel… I still feel really weak."
"Well, you haven't really eaten in over a week, save for today," said Wanda. "You're probably really hungry, or will be tomorrow when it finally hits you. So of course, I'll walk you to your bed!"
"Thank you, Wanda," Peter smiled sheepishly.
It was tough getting up - being metaphysical for nearly a week and a half had caused him to get used to it, so being in the real world and standing on a real floor was still not exactly the easiest thing in the world.
However, with Wanda's gentle hand still grasping onto his own, and her arm around his waist, Peter felt a rush of energy - not the strongest one he had ever felt, but still enough to keep him going.
"You're doing great, Peter!" smiled Wanda. "Remember, just one foot at a time, okay?"
"Got it," Peter nodded, smiling at the work he and Wanda were able to accomplish together. It was such a simple task… yet he felt good for doing it.
They reached the elevator, and when they stepped inside, she was still supporting him. "I… I think I can stand on my own now."
"You sure?" Wanda asked softly.
"Not really… but I wanna try," Peter said, smiling at her.
Wanda could've beamed with pride - he was doing so good. She slowly let her arm fall from his waist, and he supported himself on the elevator wall. His legs were shaky, and he didn't really feel stronger, but it was better than what he had felt in a long while.
But he could still stand.
That's what made him feel better - he could stand on his own.
The elevator door opened, and Peter's room was just a little ways away. "You okay to try walking there?" Wanda asked. "I'll be holding your hand the whole time."
"Yeah, let's do it," Peter nodded happily.
His steps were slow and careful, but they were steps nonetheless. He continued walking with Wanda's help, and as they finally reached his room, he giggled a little bit.
"What is it?" Wanda asked fondly.
"I just… I just didn't know if I'd actually see this room again," Peter whispered. "Not when I was in the coma… but when I saw the energy blast coming."
"Oh, Peter," Wanda whispered. "I can't imagine how scary that was…"
"It was pretty frightening…" Peter nodded, looking down briefly, but then returning her gaze. "But… somehow, I knew everything was gonna be fine when you held my hand."
Wanda sighed, her smile hiding the dampness returning to her eyes. "Get in bed, you dork. You're gonna make me cry again."
Peter giggled happily, and slid underneath his covers. Wanda sat at the foot of his bed, rubbing his knee underneath the comforter.
"I'm going to stay here until you fall asleep - no if's, and's, or but's about it," Wanda smiled. "And when you wake up tomorrow, just text me. I'll be here as fast as I can."
"As much as I appreciate that, and seeing you first thing in the morning is always a plus," Peter smiled, "why?"
Wanda returned the soft smile, leaning over so she could reach his lips and plant a soft, sweet kiss on them.
"So you know you're really here. That this is real."
Peter smiled, thankful the moonlight seeping into his room didn't reveal the heat coming to his cheeks. He cuddled up with his pillow, smiling softly at his girlfriend… it still felt so weird to be calling Wanda something more than a best friend, and yet, it just felt so right.
"Thank you Wanda… I love you," he said quietly.
"I love you too, Peter," Wanda said, patting his leg. "You have a good rest, okay?"
"Mhm, will do," Peter said, yawning and closing his eyes.
As he fell asleep to the soft sound of Wanda's humming, he felt more comforted than he had ever felt before…
He was so glad that he knew he would wake up tomorrow.
All thanks to the touch of her hand.
-0-
Before I get to my thanks and appreciation, I would like to issue a quick apology.
This honestly isn't how I wanted this fic to end - I wanted Peter to see a lot more people in his bed, write him getting the go-ahead to go back to his room, have Wanda get a lot more moments being giddy and excited (Peter too), but... I just didn't feel like I needed to do that. Partly because I have so many other ideas and I wanna move on, otherwise because I don't wanna keep you guys waiting... I'm so sorry I couldn't get the original vision to you all, but I hope this ending is still okay. :)
Thank you all so much for sticking with this story to the end! All of your comments and love has given me life, and I've thoroughly enjoyed writing this story for you all. I'll see you all in whatever I end up posting next! I love all of you so much. Thank you so much again. *heart emoji spam*
